Saavedra: Feds are wrong on HISD ratings

HISD got great marks from state last week, but national system has given it an F

JENNIFER RADCLIFFE, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, August 6, 2009

Nearly 90 percent of Houston ISD schools meet federal accountability standards, but the school district itself and more than two dozen low-performing campuses face sanctions for failing to meet the mark.

The preliminary federal ratings come one week after HISD celebrated a record number of schools — 77 percent — achieved top ratings under the state system. Although both rating systems are based largely on students' scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, they often produce conflicting results.

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HISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra, who is leaving the district at the end of the month, blasted the conflicting accountability measures, calling for an overhaul of the federal system.

“The federal NCLB AYP (adequate yearly progress) is meaningless,” he said. “There are 50 different standards in this country. Until the federal government can come up with national standards — federal standards for all kids — I think we're just playing a game. We're playing a political game.”

The goal under the federal system is for all students — including minorities, special education students and children from low-income families — to meet reading and math standards by the 2013-14 academic year. Schools are also measured on attendance and dropout rates.

New formula helped

A major overhaul to this year's system — including the so-called Texas Projection Measure — gives campuses credit for students who are on track to pass the test in future years. Texas is one of a handful of states with U.S. Department of Education approval to use the growth measure.

The new formula helped more than 2,500 campuses — 30 percent of all Texas schools — earn higher ratings from the state last week.

What tripped HISD up as a district this year is a cap on the percentage of special education students who can be exempted from taking the standard TAKS. In some grade levels, HISD tested nearly 10 percent of students with alternative exams, nearly triple the percentage allowed.

Federal law says decisions on which exam special education students should take should be made on a case-by-case basis.

“You either have a choice to violate that law and cap it at 3 percent or you decide to not break the law and let the ratings fall where they may,” Saavedra said.

This year 29 HISD schools failed, down from 50 in 2008. Students at those schools may have the option to transfer or receive subsidized tutoring. The HISD campuses that face the strongest sanctions — restructuring and possibly overhauls to the teaching staff — are Jones, Lee and Westbury high schools.

HISD as a whole also faces sanctions for missing AYP for low reading and math scores. They will be asked to plan and implement improvement measures. Other big-city school districts that came up short include Austin and Dallas. Alief and North Forest were among others locally to miss the mark.

Standards rising sharply

Statewide, about 80 percent of schools made adequate yearly progress this year. That's 992 campuses, up 20 percent from last year. The numbers will likely change after appeals are considered.

Progress was tempered by increases to the passing standard. This year, 67 percent of students were required to pass reading and 58 percent had to pass math, compared with 60 and 50 percent last year, respectively.

“The passing standards are beginning to rise sharply as school districts work to reach the No Child Left Behind mandate that 100 percent of students pass their math and reading tests by 2014,” Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott said.